Can't Cheat D'eath
by Harmonae
Summary: Before Marluxia was Marluxia, he was Lumaria. The Marluxia we all know, plus a heart. A one-shot. Dark, kinda scary, and a little deep. Rated T for such reasons.


A/N: This was inspired by The Sims 2! For which I obviously have…lol. Recently I made a neighborhood, named it Destiny Islands, made it pretty, threw in a few houses, and added some families filled with the closest I could get to characters in Kingdom Hearts! And those characters that were nobodies I made as somebodies! So, as I was playing in Lumaria's household, the part with his sister running with scissors, dying, and their mother bringing her back actually happened. The rest…not quite…lol. That was my influence, I guess. Sorry if I scare any of you! Enjoy!

Marluxia is a very...hm..._exact_ person, I guess. Everything must happen as it comes, can't change anything, can't cheat life.

_Can't Cheat Death. _

Before Marluxia was Marluxia, he was Lumaria. The Marluxia we all know, plus a heart.

And Lumaria, the Marluxia before Marluxia, plus a heart, had a sister, as well as a mother.

His sister, Hiroko, ironically, had a heart problem. Not sure what kind of a problem it was exactly, but she did. And despite her condition, she never listened and was always overly wild and out of control.

So, thus being her nature, one day she decided to run around the house, waving around a giant pair of scissors she found somewhere. And, also being overly clumsy, she tripped, fell, and stabbed herself. In the heart.

Lumaria was at school at this time, though his mother, Nozomi, was there. She came running when she heard her only daughter's scream echoing throughout the lonely, large house they lived in. Her daughter's scream brought back memories of the nightmare that was her husband's death, when he was murdered right before her as she was forced to watch. But that was many years ago. Lumaria wouldn't even remember that. He was with a friend that night. Thank God.

Nozomi stared at her daughter, lying on the floor, covered in blood as vivid images of the nightmare flooded her mind. She couldn't help but stand there, staring, watching her daughter's life pour out from her, like the blood continuing to spread all across the floor.

Even as the dreaded D'eath came to take her daughter, she couldn't move a muscle. Though as the blood covered body started to fade, she could. As if the body was a weight on her, allowing her not to move. She ran to the Reaper as he floated away and grabbed his robes, begging for her daughter back. He sighed and turned towards her.

So, in a deep, faded voice, "How about we play a game then, hm? A game where the prize is the life of your daughter."

Nozomi agreed, worry and grief clearly seen on her face.

D'eath gracefully placed a hand behind his back and brought it back out in front of him, clearly holding something. He opened his grasp, revealing a bright, shining orb of light.

"This is Hiroko's soul. Her _heart_."

Nozomi reached out to touch it, thinking she could just take it, when D'eath pulled it back towards him. He then held out his other skeletal hand, waving it in front of her.

"And as you can see, there is nothing in this hand. Now pay attention."

He clenched the empty hand into a fist and carefully closed his other hand around Hiroko's heart, also clenched into a fist, identical to his other hand. He brought both hands behind his back, shuffling Hiroko's heart between them as Nozomi watched, more worried than before, with near no sense of sadness, though the tears continued to stream down her face.

D'eath paused and brought out his hands again, both clenched into fists with the back of his hands up.

"Now choose. Which one of my hands holds her heart?"

Nozomi's hand shook as she thought, going back and forth between the two choices, knowing Hiroko's life was in one, but not knowing which.

"One thing I must mention that many before have made the mistake of not doing; choose with your _heart, _not with your _mind._"

Nozomi stopped, froze. She looked up into D'eath's eyes, or lack of. She thought on what he said and became calm, clearing her mind and letting her heart take over.

"R-right."

She pointed towards his right hand as she said it, feeling confident she had chosen correctly.

"Are you sure?"

She thought for a moment, D'eath's comment causing her to doubt her decision.

"Did your _heart _choose?"

She looked up to him again, her confidence returning. She stood up strait, looking him strait in the 'eye'.

"Yes."

She stated boldly and smiled. D'eath paused, staring into her eyes as he smiled as well. Though not on the outside, for those who understand the meaning of that.

"Alright."

He opened his right hand to reveal the familiar orb, bright as ever. Nozomi's face lit up, realizing she'd won her daughter's life back.

When a familiar click from the front door echoed through the house and footsteps were heard down the hallway. They stopped when a very quiet splashing sound was heard.

"Mom?!"

The footsteps continued, faster now, as Lumaria followed what seemed to be a river of blood, running to where his mother hopefully was.

And there she was, now staring at Lumaria in fear, as if his presence reminded her that she hadn't only won, she'd beaten the Reaper. She'd cheated death.

The Reaper continued with his new task, paying no attention to the other two.

D'eath glided over to Hiroko's body, the orb still in his hand. He kneeled down and turned Hiroko's body so she was up-right, keeping his left hand on her back to hold her up as he tilted his right, letting the orb, her heart, fall onto her, return to her, once again.

Lumaria stared, wide-eyed at D'eath, knowing exactly what was happening, though having never witnessed it before.

D'eath stood again as Hiroko lay in the sea that was her blood, regaining consciousness. He looked down at her, feeling…happiness…which was odd for someone like him. He scoffed.

"A reaper shouldn't feel happy for a life returned. He should feel loss, for a heart not gained…"

He turned from Hiroko, gliding across the room, past Nozomi as she stared at her feet, not sure whether to feel happy her daughter was alive again, or afraid for going against and angering Lumaria.

"In fact, a reaper shouldn't feel anything at all…"

He continued to glide across the room, but stopped when he was beside Lumaria.

"Just like a Nobody."

Lumaria turned his head toward D'eath, staring in to his 'eyes', as D'eath stared right back. D'eath bore into Lumaria's mind, looking into it, curious of the boy's future.

A future filled with Darkness.

D'eath laughed a low, dark laugh as he looked down, away from Lumaria, letting go of his mind. Lumaria stumbled backwards, feeling light-headed, as if he had been unconscious and is regaining consciousness again.

D'eath continued gliding across the room, pausing at the wall where a portal had formed. He looked back to the small family, surrounded by blood in such a large home.

_This house would've gotten larger…and the family smaller…if I hadn't given that poor woman a chance…sigh…it's going to become so, I fear…_

He thought this, looking back at the small family, feeling again. Sorrow, this time. Feeling sorry for a small family that would've gotten smaller, and will. He turned towards the dark hole in the wall as he glided through, the portal disappearing behind him.

Once he felt alright and could walk strait, Lumaria ran to his mother who was kneeling in his sister's blood as she helped her to stand up. Nozomi held one arm as Lumaria grabbed the other and carried Hiroko up the stairs and into her room, laying her down on her bed to let her rest.

Nozomi exited first, Lumaria following. They both paused when the door clicked shut. Lumaria thought as Nozomi waited. He sighed, ready to speak, when Nozomi hurried to and down the stairs, heading for the kitchen to find something to clean the blood. Lumaria followed close behind her, furious that she was trying to avoid him.

"Mother! Stop!"

She stopped, knowing what may come. Tears welled up in her eyes before she let them pour down her face.

"I'm sorry, Lumaria! I'm so sorry! I just didn't want her gone! I wanted her to live!"

"I told you to always let it be! It's not right to keep things from happening, to postpone them!"

"But what if this was meant to happen?! What if she was supposed to die, so I could save her, bring her back?!"

Both were silent. Nozomi stared at him as she waited for a response from Lumaria. He looked down from having stared at her, thinking about what she'd just said.

She calmed herself again, looking away from him.

"Maybe she was meant to die…so I could feel what it would and most likely will feel like when she does…for real…"

She whispered the last few words as tears started to flow down her face again.

Lumaria blinked and looked at her, then looked down again.

"Maybe I was supposed to meet D'eath…Maybe that was a message he needed to give me…"

He whispered, not wanting Nozomi to hear him, not wanting her to worry. He looked at her again. Her head hung low, her face buried in her hands as she cried, realizing what was meant for her. Lumaria sighed.

"It's alright, you were right this time. I'm sorry."

She sniffed and whipped her tears away, looking up to Lumaria. She smiled and nodded. Her eyes became droopy as she nearly fell, sleep taking over her. Lumaria caught her and held her, helping her up the stairs and to her bed as he returned to his room as well.

He entered his room, closing the door behind him. He sighed again as he leaned against the door. He stood there a moment, then pushed against the closed door, helping himself to stand again. He walked across his room and over to a window, one of the many large windows in this large house, and looked out to the beautiful night sky. The only beautiful, peaceful, and somehow happy thing he's seen all day.

"Though a heart was returned…"

Lumaria jumped as he heard a familiar voice, though louder, echoing throughout the room.

"…another must be…_taken…"_

Lumaria's eyes grew wide, the voice heard from right behind him.

…_The voice... _

The sound of a blade being taken out of its sheath was heard as a scythe was brought around, in front of Lumaria, right under his chin, against his neck. He could feel the presence of something…unusual…behind him, though familiar. He'd felt it recently. He'd heard that voice recently too…

… _Easily forgotten, though remembered when heard…_

The blade came closer and closer, slowly slicing his neck as blood poured out, more and more as the blade pierced deeper and deeper. But oddly, he was remembering that voice and that presence better and better as it came deeper and deeper, the blood pouring out more and more.

…_That…presence…_

His vision blurred as an also familiar skeletal hand came in front of him, right under the scythe. The hand pressed against his chest, as if trying to squeeze something out.

…_The hand…the blade…_

And then it did. Though he could feel his life leaving him, he could still see it, still recognize it, still feel the warmth it gave of through its bright light. The figure behind him laughed a deep, sadistic laugh Lumaria had heard before.

…_That laugh…the voice…_

He could feel the light of a heart, the warmth, leaving him as the bright orb fell into his hands…

…_D'eath…_

…Well? Did you like it? Let me know! Even if you're speechless or something! I wanna know! I love reviews! And I'm very proud of this one! I started it at like 10:00 night and finished at like 1:40 in the morning, just cause I loved it so much and wanted to finish it! _And_ I posted it at 1:50 in the morning for Arie-Bo-Bo-Chan and because I was too excited _not_ to post it! Plus, you probably wouldn't even be able to imagine how much my head hurt after all that! So I hope I do get at least a few reviews…Please?

..:Nan-out:..


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